Yesterday Has Gone Away
by Hikari Takaishi
Summary: *Chapter 4 "Always a Hero"* Koushiro and Taichi are pushed out to sea in midst of the rough waves--and Koushiro unable to swim properly with his current injuries. Taichi is put in control again to be not just a friend, but a hero as well. Can he get to Ko
1. Yesterday Has Gone Away

****

Yesterday Has Gone Away

"What should we do for summer?" 

"Let's go fishing!"

"Ugh! I hate the smell of fish…"

"R-right. I mean, why don't we go skiing?"

"Yeah! There's a beautiful lake nearby my family's cabin!"

"I don't know how to water ski though…"

"You can learn! It's not so hard."

"I'd rather do actual skiing. In the snow. When it's cold."

"Einstein, it's summer. You can't go skiing."

"So?"

"So you can't go skiing."

"He can go skiing if he wants."

"But it's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible when you put your mind to it."

"Then let's put our mind into doing something for summer!"

"I don't see why you're making such a big fuss over summer. It comes every year."

"Iori! C'mon! We're trying to do something fun."

"We've done a lot of things that are fun."

"Like what?"

"Well, we crept into school last summer when it was closed, just to go to the Digital World. Might I add we are a part of the Digidestined group? We camped in the Digiworld and made new friends. We were--"

"You're a genius, Iori!"

"Hikari… Ken's a genius, Iori's a kid."

"Hey!"

"Jeez, Daisuke! You're nice!"

"Shut up, TD!"

"Guys, guys, guys! Let Hikari talk."

"Let's go to the Digital World! One last time before…"

"Great idea, Hikari. Better than fishing!"

"It's settled. We're going to the Digital World before we actually do say goodbye."

"Right, Ken. We'll get the whole gang…"

"So we'll all be together. Before Jyou goes into college and has no time for us."

"Oh, Iori, we'll always have time for each other. Including Jyou."

"I've got to get home, my mom fixed her fried chicken tonight and I want some."

"Bye, Takeru. Ask Yamato!"

"Righty-o."

"I should be going, too. Taichi's expecting me home so he can give me the 'so you're entering eighth grade' speech. He's more excited than I am about it."

"I'll walk you home, Kari."

"Okay, TK."

"Pet names! Since when did you give each other pet names!"

"They're not really pet names, Daisuke…"

"Our brothers called us these names and--"

"I'll walk you home, too, Kari!"

"Daisuke, why don't you walk _me_ home instead?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Let's go before we see Daisuke fly out the window."

"By Ken, Iori, Daisuke, and Miyako."

Takeru and Hikari exited the Motomiya residence and walked down to the elevator. They whispered to each other quietly, for it was late at night, almost eleven. To adults, that was late; to kids, it was just the beginning. Pressing the main floor button, Takeru slipped his hands in his pockets and rocked from heel to toe. His blond hair was grown out a bit, a little longer than it was when the second mission in the Digital World was passed out. And his eyes were only more cerulean and brighter than ever. His shoulders were broad, like his brothers, and his stance was never perfectly straight; he had a casual lean. 

He wore khaki jeans that fell over his shoes; that was also different from when he was beginning in the seventh grade. His white shirt was hidden beneath a dark blue over-shirt and an off-white baseball cap hung off one of his belt loops on his right side. When Hikari didn't say anything, he glanced over to find her scuffing the elevator floor with the tip of her black, closed-toe sandals. 

"Is something wrong?" he questioned, still in an accidental whisper. 

She jerked her head, her brown hair curling under her chin; she had grown it out a little bit. "Not at all," she smiled brightly, "I'm just looking forward to our little rendezvous with the Digital World."

He raised his eyebrow, looking more like his brother as he tilted his head. "We've been there only what, two weeks ago? You make it seem so distant."

"Because it is, Takeru," she murmured, folding her arms behind her back. The elevator doors opened and they stepped out.

"Why are you taking this to the heart so much?" Takeru opened the main doors and let Hikari through.

She sighed, letting the gentle breeze blow on her bare arms. The girl was wearing a pink tank top with a purple flower border on the bottom. Her blue jeans wrapped itself around her legs then fell onto her feet loosely. "I suppose it's the memories. What happened, what could have happened, and how many of these memories would be lost when we grow old," she finally answered.

Takeru walked along side of his friend and nodded. She didn't notice his nod, but he didn't even notice that she didn't notice. 

"But making memories is all a part of life," he tried to sound like he chose his words carefully.

"But they're also there to remember, not to forget."

"How could you forget something so big as the Digital World, Hikari?" He watched her bite her bottom lip. This caused him to chew the inside of his mouth as well.

She looked up at him, "What would have happened if one of us would have died in the Digital World?"

"Why would you think about--"

"Because if the Chosen Children are there to keep that world on track, what would happen if one of them died?"

"W-well…"

"Would they be deleted from the Digiworld and then downloaded again? Or would they be replaced? And what would happen if--"

"Hikari!" Takeru set his hand on her shoulder. "Nothing like that has happened. And I don't think the Chosen Children are… chosen just randomly. I think we were you know, picked because we could survive in the Digiworld. You don't have to worry about that, either, Hikari. With Gatomon on your side and people like me---and your brother, you'll never get hurt."

Hikari faintly smiled. "You're right, Takeru."

"That's the first. I never get anything right."

"Oh jeez!" she huffed, "you insult yourself too much!"

"It's true!" he exclaimed, his voice slightly cracking from talking so much for the past week.

The girl felt around in her pocket before pulling her hand out with her lip-gloss. She fiddled with the lid before applying some to her lips. "This is where we part, Takeru."

"For tonight. I'll be back around… tomorrow."

Hikari smiled. "With Yamato as well. And Miyako, Daisuke, Ken, Iori, Taichi, Koushiro--"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back tomorrow, with recruits." 

"Funny, Takeru." She turned to look down her street. "Hey, TK?"

"Yeah?" he also turned around.

"U-um," she shoved her strawberry lip-gloss into her pocket and looked down. "Never mind."

"Okay," he shrugged and started to walk again.

She mentally kicked herself, "No wait, I'm sorry."

Takeru reversed in his steps and turned around again. "What is it?"

"I--" she blinked, "I-I forgot."

"Jeez, the way you're acting, I could swear that you're trying to tell me some deep dark secret."

She glared at the ground. "Well I was trying to…"

"Really now?" Takeru smirked, stepping towards his friends with his hands still in his pockets. He leaned towards her and questioned, "Is it about someone you like? Perhaps?"

Hikari blushed madly and raised her hand to slap him. He laughed and shielded his head with his arms. She then tugged hard on his ear, causing him to lean further down.

"Relax! Relax!" Takeru chuckled, "I'm just joshing you."

"I'm in no mood to be teased."

"Well if it's just that time of the--"

"Since when did you become so immature!" she hissed.

"Exactly the same time you became so serious."

Hikari bit her lip and smiled. "You just love to make me feel stupid, don't you?"

Takeru shrugged helplessly, "It's something that entertains me. So what did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing…" she rubbed her arms and turned to walk away. 

"Hey, Kari?"

"Now what?" She turned around, ready for a three-foot distance between her and Takeru. Instead, he was a mere two inches away. Her eyes searched for an answer inside of Takeru's eyes, but she came up empty handed as she stood there, dumbfounded. "Takeru?" she whispered, waiting for the reason he called her back.

Takeru blinked several times before stepping back. "Nothing. I forgot."

"Um… right," she let her eyes trail away. 

"Goodnight, Hikari," Takeru waved and shifted on his heels. Before she could say her own farewell, he took off in a sprint down the darkened road. 

"Um, so long," she kicked a pebble into the street then walked herself home. 

"Taichi! Come on already," Hikari shifted from foot to foot. She pounded her fist against the bathroom door, still in her white pajamas with pink angel rabbits. "I have to go, Tai!"

"How bad!" he called from within the bathroom.

"Bad! Taichi! Don't do this to me!" she started to jump within the hallway, pulling on her fingers to keep her mind off of water.

Taichi laughed and turned on the faucet. The sound of running water filled the silence. Then there was a knock on the door.

"TAICHI!" she screamed and hopped her way into the living room. She threw open the door and immediately blushed. "Hi! TK… Yamato…" 

"Hi, uh, Kari," Takeru sheepishly looked away. 

"Hey, kid, where's Taichi?" Yamato let himself in and his little brother followed.

"He is IN THE BATHROOM!" she increased her volume as she neared the door again. "Come on! Tai! You've been in there since… I woke up!"

Takeru scratched the back of his neck while he watched Hikari shift from sitting on the floor, to leaning against the wall, to jiggling the doorknob, and back to hopping back and forth. He kept watching her and the funny movements she made until Yamato gave a sharp jab to his gut. Coughing to hide his yelp, he looked up at Yamato.

"What?" he asked almost silently.

"It's not polite to stare."

"I wasn't staring!"

"You were nearly drooling!"

"I was not!"

"It could be seen a mile away, your drool that is."

Takeru glared hard at his brother and turned away to hide the light blush. "Why would I be staring at Hikari in her pajamas?"

"Do _I_ need to answer that?" Yamato teased. Finally, the bathroom door opened and Hikari threw her brother out. A few minutes later, the sound of the shower water came from the bathroom.

"Hey, Taichi," Yamato ran his fingers through his hair, "you better watch out, Takeru's checking out your sister--in her pajamas."

Takeru dropped his apple and glared again. "I was not!"

Taichi gave the younger blond a look and raised his eyebrow. Then he turned to Yamato, "Shimmering drool and shining eyes and all that jazz?"

"And heart thumping loudly," he replied.

"I was not staring at Hikari!" Takeru snatched his apple. "I wouldn't do such a thing to a friend."

"I dunno," Taichi scratched his chin, "you've been getting rather chummy with her lately."

"I am not!"

"And you know, puberty hits kind of hard," Yamato added.

"Matt!" he wailed and turned bright red. Both of the older teenagers laughed while he bit into his apple stubbornly. "

"When did Hikari get her white pajamas with blue devil bunnies?" Yamato asked Taichi.

"Uh, blue bunnies? I don't remember blue bunnies…"

"Takeru, do you know what I'm talking about?"

Takeru shifted in his seat, red-faced. "They were pink, okay?"

"Ah! Yes, pink, pink," Yamato inched into the teasing mode again. His voice screamed out 'A-ha! So you were staring!'

"Anyone can tell pink from blue!" Takeru turned away, again biting into the fruit. "Besides, they were angel bunnies. Pink angel bunnies." He stood up and walked to the refrigerator to look at the pictures the two Yagamis drew in their childhood. Before long, the running water stopped and the door opened. 

Hikari appeared in the kitchen with a cream-colored towel around herself and chucked a toothbrush at her brother. "That's the THIRD time you 'accidentally' threw my toothbrush in the toilet, Taichi!"

Takeru turned around, expecting to see her fully dressed… He blinked. 

"Hikari! This time it was in accident! It was stuck on the toothpaste and I was shaking the tube to get rid of the toothbrush and it just went…" Taichi made a motion with his hands that stood for the toothbrush landing in the toilet. 

"That's why you put the toilet seat DOWN after you're done!" she stormed back into the hallway and into her room. Takeru blinked again. 

"Since when did Hikari get that green towel, Taichi?" Yamato asked, teasing his brother once again.

Takeru glared at him for the seventeenth time and warned, "Don't start it, Yamato."

"No, really, is that _green towel_ new?" Yamato chuckled.

"It's an off-white kind of color, Yamato!" Takeru threw his apple core at the older blond. "They're pink angel rabbits and an off-white towel!"

"Actually it's cream," Hikari's voice broke in through the 'guy talk'. Yamato and Taichi started to laugh, all Takeru did was look down and blush.

"What'd you guys talk about?" she crossed her arms. She was wearing her blue jeans and a white T-shirt. 

"Nothing. Can we go now? We need to pick up Daisuke and Ken." Takeru opened the door. Four pairs of eyes met his gaze.

Hikari smiled brightly, "Hey, they beat us to it. And with Iori and Miyako, too."

Miyako pushed her way in. "Can we go? I mean, Mimi's supposed to meet us there and--"

"Oh! We mustn't forget Mimi!" Koushiro popped into the picture. "But it's okay to forget me!"

"Ugh, relax, Koushiro," Miyako reached into her bag and pulled out a box of brownies. "I didn't forget about your brownies."

"Ooh, brownies," Koushiro gladly took it. "Thanks, Miyako."

"No problem."

"Now that the food exchange is all over, can we get going?" Daisuke asked.

Taichi tossed a sweatshirt to Hikari and nodded. "We can go get Sora and Jyou now."

"Fine! Whatever, let's just get going!" Miyako pulled the group out by a handful. They all crowded into the elevator and talked noisily about their oncoming plans. Just as the doors opened, Sora and Jyou were seen entering the apartment building. Another short introduction scene came through the group and soon, they were on their way---back to the Yagami residence.

"You know, we could have just met someplace else," Koushiro said, slightly impatient from the hopping on elevators all day. "Can we just find a place and go?"

"Fine, use the elevator. No one can see you there."

"Pardon me?" an old woman blinked behind the kids. All of them turned around. "If you want to use the bathroom, there's some over there. There's no need to use the elevator!"

Koushiro blinked, then laughed falsely. "You're right. In fact… why don't we all go to the bathroom?"

"Great idea, Koushiro!" Taichi followed his laugh and the group of teenagers inched their way into the woman's restroom. All… of the kids.

The old woman arranged her purse and mumbled to herself, "Kids these days. They want co-ed everything."

"Hey, how come the girl's bathroom actually has paint?" Taichi blinked. "I mean, our landlord at least put in public bathrooms… but she only painted the girls' bathroom! How--"

"Oh, shut up, Taichi," Sora shook her head. 

"Is this what I think it is?" Daisuke pointed to a metal box, hooked to the wall. 

Miyako blinked, "No! It's just a quarter machine!"

"…" Daisuke glared.

"Put a quarter in it, Daisuke! You get a prize!" Miyako said. 

"Come on!" Koushiro opened his pineapple laptop and waited. "We're trying to have a picnic of fun here."

"In the girls' bathroom?" a girl's voice came from the stall at the far end. Everyone drooped their shoulders and bowed their heads. 

"You're right, we should have it in the men's bathroom." Taichi pushed everyone out of the bathroom and back towards the elevator. "My mom should be gone by now. Let's just do it there."

"Then can we get something to eat?" Daisuke held his stomach. "All this walking around made me hungry."

Only a few minutes later, the Digidestined fell through the Yagamis' front door and piled into the living room. Koushiro set the laptop on the coffee table and opened it. He then looked up at the faces of each teenager.

"Anyone need to use the restroom be for we go?" he asked.

"No, but I'm sure Takeru would love to see the blue bunny pajamas again." Yamato gave Takeru a look.

Takeru gave one straight back, except a mean look. "Shut up, Yamato…"

"They were purple rabbits, Yamato," Taichi interrupted.

Hikari and Miyako whispered to each other and giggled. 

"For the love of basketball!" Takeru exclaimed, nearly ripping his hair out, "they were pink angel rabbits and it was a white towel! Pink, angel, bunny, white, towel. Just leave me alone!"

"…I thought Hikari said it was cream," Yamato replied. 

"Let's just go," he hung his head in defeat. 

Daisuke had the last words before the group disappeared: "Hikari has pink bunny pajamas?"

"It's about time!" Mimi's voice was the first to speak when they arrived. 

"We had a couple difficulties," Koushiro folded his arms behind his back and looked at Takeru.

"What?" the blond looked back.

There wasn't a reply. 

"What!" he said, nearly falling to the ground.

Hikari smiled gently. "Let's just get this picnic started."

Sora agreed and pulled her bag off her shoulders. As the group laid out a soft quilt, the basket, and the radio, their digimon partners arrived on the scene. Mimi and Sora sat beside their stereo and pulled out some of their favorite CDs. Koushiro, Taichi, and Yamato sat amongst the trees, each of them leaning on it in an angle. They shared small talk while Koushiro typed away on his computer. Tentomon and Gabumon had placed themselves on the tree limbs; Agumon decided to sit by Taichi. 

Daisuke, Takeru, Iori and Ken were trying to play a game of checkers, but Wormmon and V-mon didn't really get the point of moving the checkers over each other and the game ended with the board turned over. Hikari and Miyako sat with the other two girls and began to talk nonstop. Jyou eventually pulled himself away from his book, long enough to tell Sora to put in _his_ favorite music. He then joined the mediocre group of Taichi, Koushiro, and Yamato.

The children then gathered to sit on the quilt, more or less lay, and talk to each other. Takeru stared at the sky while the others spoke about school, summer, and memories. He watched clouds pass his eyesight and waited for more to come by. But in midst of their little chat, something caught his eye and he squinted. Soon, he sat up and stared into the sky.

"Takeru? What's wrong? See pink angel bunnies?" Yamato asked.

"Drop the rabbit thing. What is that?" Takeru pointed up into the sky and towards a small shimmer.

"It looks like…" Koushiro sat up as well and watched it for a minute or so. "A fireball…"

"In the Digital World?" Hikari shot up and looked down at Gatomon. "Has that ever happened?"

"As far as my Digi-kitty life goes," she answered, "no."

"Maybe it's just a nova, or a super nova." Koushiro fell onto his back again. 

Takeru blinked. "Well this 'fireball' looks like it's getting closer, Koushiro."

Jyou nearly jumped to his feet. "He's right…"

"Impossible!" Taichi blurted. "It's just digital!"

"It's not impossible," Ken said, standing up, "the Digital World is like a planet all its own. When there's a planet…"

"There's a galaxy full of stars," Koushiro finished. The gleam began to grow.

"What are we waiting here for!" Daisuke scrambled to his feet. "We've got to get home!"

"But what about the digimon?" Hikari asked, watching as the group was grabbing their belongings. "We can't just leave them here!"

"I hate to spoil your little plan, Hikari," Takeru urged her to look at the sky, "but that thing isn't getting any smaller."

The so-called 'fireball' was becoming more clear to the naked eye. It was a brilliant shade of red and it was growing more intense. Each of the Chosen Children gathered their items and started to run to the nearest television set to get back home. Takeru pulled Hikari along while she pulled Iori and Armadillomon with her. 

"Digi-port open!" Miyako yelled, nearing the set. Nothing happened. She fell to the side of it and checked every condition. "Koushiro! It won't work!"

"No time to fix it," Taichi pulled her to her feet, "let's just find another!"

They ran together from that set to another. Only they couldn't find the other one. An annoying sound came buzzing through the air; it was the fireball. Hikari stared at the sky and her eyes grew wide. Her grip on Gatomon tightened and she heard someone yelling behind her.

"Everybody move!" Taichi yelled at the top of his lungs. They scattered like cockroaches exposed from light as the object came closer to the earth. 

"Takeru!" Hikari cried as the sound came louder behind her back. She only saw the blue-eyed boy for a second before the noise drowned out her scream. The impact of the fireball sent her flying into the air, she saw Patamon and Takeru only briefly. 

"Gatomon!" she yelled and gripped her D-3 while the cloud of dust surrounded her body. She clenched her eyes shut and felt a heavy blow to her head. There wasn't even time to respond. 

Takeru forced himself to grab a hold of Patamon, but he failed in every attempt. His body was flung into the debris and he was lost from there. He tried to force himself to stay conscious, but he failed to do that as well. 

Taichi and Koushiro were tossed into the air like a baseball, hand in hand. Both of them ended up being flung in a tremendous distance and into the ocean of the Digital World. 

Iori clung to the nearest person he could find, it was Yamato. Both were a fair distance away from the impact, but they were still hurled a ways and pushed into the woodlands. 

Two others, Daisuke and Ken, were delivered to the other side of their little picnic area. Their digimon had enough time to digivolve and they set them down to safety, very far from the disaster area.

Miyako and Mimi were tossed in the direction of the deserts while Jyou and Sora flew like unconscious birds to the mountains.

Smoke, dirt, and other debris filled the air, smothering the blue sky so it could no longer be seen. Silence echoed itself after everything died down and calmed itself. Several minutes later, Hikari opened her eyes to find herself covered with snow. She shivered and pulled her sweatshirt over her body.

"Taichi!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Gatomon! …Takeru!!!"

Her own voice was the only thing that replied.

::blinks:: Is it really THAT bad sounding? I'm sorry. -_- It's only the beginning, though. And about the whole… 'fireball' thing… It _is_ possible to live through that… Just use your imagination to place the DigiD's a good distance away from it; but not too far away or they would go up and fly like a bird. ::falls over:: I'm sorry. I just had to get to the point where they're all separated and I couldn't think of anything else. Flame me. Go ahead. ^-^ I promise it'll get better. I hope… Please review. …Even though this doesn't satisfy your reader's soul, please review. 


	2. But Tomorrow is Still Alive

****

Yesterday Has Gone Away-

But Tomorrow is Still Alive

"Stingmon!" Ken hissed while caught within the storm of debris. "Can you see Daisuke!"

"I can't see anything beyond my nose," he heard the voice of his digimon.

"You don't have a nose," he informed, covering his eyes with his arms. "There!" he glanced ahead and to the left, "Daisuke and Ex-V-mon are ahead."

Daisuke heard the dark-haired youth's voice and turned back to see him. "Something's not right, Ken! Something's--"

As if on cue, both of their digimon began to weaken in strength and soon, the worst of fates happened. Their digimon de-digivolved into their feeble forms and was pushed down by the weights of their partners. Both the humans and the digimon yelled into nothingness while they flew towards the ground. Daisuke clutched onto V-mon for dear life, swearing to his breath. He was sure that Ken was doing the same while they hurled through the sky.

Ken stretched his arm out to grab a hold of Daisuke, but his fingers slipped through the air instead of him. He then returned his hold on Wormmon, feeling the heat of the fall increase. After hearing the scream of Daisuke, he closed his eyes tightly, awaiting the impact of the hard ground…

-

"Miyako!" Mimi screamed. The two girls had landed in the sandy plains. Although they were in functional health, Miyako had landed pretty roughly on the sand. Mimi crawled her way to the fallen friend and tapped her shoulder. "Oh! Please wake up, Miyako! Please!"

There wasn't a reply. Her fingers flew directly to the nook on her neck, checking for a pulse. Luckily, there was a normal pulse. The older girl squinted over the hills of grain, looking for anyone else. _Palmon*Taichi*Palmon. _She came up empty handed and began to worry of the worst. Her hand rested on the forehead of her friend as she sat in the unusual cool desert, letting her doubts fill her mind.

-

Dark eyes forced themselves open and immediately closed again. The boy groaned and clawed at the ground to push himself up, but found great pain when doing that. He fell back onto the ground with another groan and blinked his eyes open once more. Blades of grass poked into his eyes, but his glasses shielded him from it. At last, he sat up and took a look around.

"Where am I?" he asked, mostly to himself because he saw no other. He tilted his head up and saw no blue sky. The flowing ruins covered every inch of what used to be a beautiful sky. Another twist of pain was delivered as he pulled himself up; didn't let the bother him. His eyes searched the area again. Grass wasn't so green anymore, trees looked nearly dead. To the right of him were large mountains, then to the left of him were smaller, but still large, mountains. 

"Taichi! Yamato, Sora! Anyone!" he called, hearing a faint echo. "Gomamon! Answer me! Anybody…"

Jyou staggered a little bit before collapsing under his weight again. His fist hit the ground in anger; because he was giving up on himself, because he couldn't make it. He dug his fingers into the ground, feeling pain in his stomach, thinking it was because he knocked the air out of his lungs. He stayed on the ground for a long while before realizing one member of his little duo was missing. Sora… He knew that he had been flung in her direction on impact. Now where was she?

-

Heavy breathing came from the forest; a little boy was curled into the arms of Yamato as the sky slowly disappeared from the dark debris. Yamato stared up, hoping for any sign of his living friends. Nothing reached out to great him. He bowed his head slowly, hoping, wishing, needing reassurance that everyone was okay. He wanted to know that Takeru was safe. He _needed_ to know that he was safe.

"Yamato," Iori's trembling voice broke his thoughts. The blond looked through the darkness and at him. "Are we safe now?" he asked, the tremble breaking into tears.

Yamato hid a grimace by turning away. "We're safe." He said it to convince himself more than Iori. "But we need to get out of this place before we can't even see our hands in front of our faces."

The teenager stood up, taking the youth in his arms. It reminded him of his past so much… Takeru would always be in his arms or by his side. Now he didn't even know where he was. If he was safe… If he was alive…

-

Hikari felt the cold snow blow against her already frozen cheeks. She wanted to give up and cry into her hands, but she knew what her brother would do. _Don't give up when the flame dies down. Re-light it. Let it burn with all the power it has._ She sat in the frozen water for a long time, her pants beginning to let the snow reach her skin. She had to find Takeru… Her brother… Gatomon…. Gatomon!

"Gatomon!" Hikari yelled, slightly out of relief. Rising to her feet, she then ran in the direction of her frozen little cat friend, then dropping to her knees to lift Gatomon up. "Oh, Gatomon! Are you okay? Oh…" She knew the answer. Her best friend was even colder than she was. And they were only outside for maybe less than ten minutes.

Hikari slid the digimon into her sweatshirt for warmth. Convincing herself to rise again, she started to walk against the snow. Every few seconds, she called for someone. Whether it'd be her brother, Miyako, Sora, or Takeru; it didn't matter, but she called for them in hopes for not being alone. It was only a matter of steps before she descended to the snow. 

"Taichi, where are you?" she murmured quietly, the cold finally reaching to her mind.

-

Taichi fell hard to the ground, sand pelting into his eyes. A second agonizing thump sounded somewhere in the distance and Taichi's hand clamped shut. It must have been Koushiro, his hand couldn't feel the other's, so it had to be him. Just as he was ready to get up and find Koushiro, he found himself unable to move. The first thought that came to mind was that he was paralyzed. That quickly faded as a strong pain swept though his entire body. He was just too tired. Too tired to open his eyes or lift his head; too tired to call a name… too tired to even breathe.

An eternity drifted while Taichi laid there, listening for something. _Somebody._ He found out that he was on the beach; first by feeling the sand, then by listening the waves crash onto it. Taichi then felt the breeze drift down to his level, making him shiver. He finally gathered enough strength to push his face out of the sand. And soon, he was sitting on his knees.

His eyes scanned the area for Koushiro, or anyone for that matter. The sky was darkened and it had become cold. He couldn't remember whether he fell asleep or if he was in too great of pain to nod off. Maybe he had imagined hearing the second thump, maybe an echo. Maybe it was his mind that made that second thump. It could have been all in his head. No… he remembered Koushiro trying to grab a hold of his arm while their hands were linked in the sky. Taichi clenched his eyes shut, remembering the massive pain within Koushiro's scream as something jerked the two away. He had turned his head just in time to see his fingertips lose their touch from Koushiro's hand.

The wind blew harshly against Taichi. It reminded him of the impact he had made on the ground. Hard and cold. Everything to him was cold now.

"Koushi'o!" Taichi tried to yell his friend's name. He found out that his voice was slurred because of a possible injured jaw. "Kou-shi'o! Iz--" He stopped short and glanced at a fallen log--or tree, whichever way you looked at it. If he glanced hard enough, he could see some type of clothing. Another hard glance and he saw red-stained sand…

-

Miyako opened her eyes and shivered. Her body trembled from the pain in her mind and it made her think she was in some kind of danger. The hold around her frightened her even more as she tried to escape the grasp of whoever was holding onto her. Her eyes fixated on Mimi's and her breathing returned to normal, though her body didn't stop trembling.

"Miyako, Miyako," Mimi was cooing gently to soothe the mind of her friend. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. No need to be frightened."

The gentleness of her voice made Miyako gain her composure and she clenched her hands into fists, each one grabbing a good amount of sand. "What happened? Where are we? Did I die? Where's Hawkmon!"

"Shh," Mimi closed her eyes. "I don't know what happened. I don't know where we are aside from a desert in the Digital World. You didn't die… And… I don't even know where _my_ digimon is, let alone yours."

"I'm… I'm dreaming aren't I? Because I know that we were going to a picnic… I must have dozed off and dreamt there was a fireball just hurling towards us… Just coming down on us…" Miyako knew it wasn't a dream, but she wanted to convince herself that it was. "And I remember hearing Hikari worrying about the digimon… then… then… Oh! Mimi! Are we lost?"

_Yes…_ "No." She lied to keep herself calm. "We're just fine. All we have to do is find… some people… and…" She lowered her head and a tear from her eyes spilled onto Miyako's cheek.

Winds began to pick up from seemingly nowhere. Sand danced around them, causing them to close their eyes and shield each other from the little bothersome specs of grain. It was a sandstorm. As if things couldn't get worse…

-

Daisuke groaned, hearing his own voice blare inside of his head. He winced and clasped his hands over his ears. That didn't help much. When the rattling of his brain settled, he opened his eyes to find a little fire in front of his little leaf bed. The sky began to get dark. It failed to give warmth. Sitting up, Daisuke turned his head to find any sign of Ken or V-mon. His eyes settled on Ken.

He was sitting at the edge of a cliff, apparently in deep thought since he didn't hear Daisuke rustling about. Daisuke curiously went to his side and sat down beside him. There was a spectacular view of the Digital World. Or the ruins of it. There was fire, spreading wildly through the forests, caused by the collision of their digital fireball. Oceans still carried on as they were, rolling in and out of their bays. He wondered where everyone was…

"Ken?" he whispered, afraid to speak any louder. "Where are we? Where's everyone else?"

"What hurts?" he intercepted the questions with his own.

"Everything," the brunette pulled his knees to his chest to comfort himself. 

Ken nodded. He didn't know what the nod meant, but he nodded. "Do you know where our digimon are?" there was a hint of fear in his voice.

"I thought you would." Disappointment. 

"I'm sorry," Ken murmured. _I failed to protect…_

Daisuke blinked, "For what? You didn't plan this."

"But I couldn't hold onto Wormmon… If I did, we wouldn't be stuck up here." Ken held out his hands, dried with blood. "I let him slip out of my grasp…"

"Snap out of it, Ken! You can't help it if accidents happen."

"But I had him… I--I failed him. I failed you. I failed us." Ken looked down with out another word.

"We have to do something… I'll do something… I'll find food… Just keep the fire going." Daisuke dropped his head as well. _I failed you, too, Ken._

I'm sorry. Ken looked up at the other, then watched him leave. "Daisuke, no. Don't…"

Daisuke looked back. "Why? Do you want to live or starve to death?"

"Let's stay here," Ken looked back down the cliff. "We can't go and get ourselves lost."

"Fine," he whispered, feeling a strike of doubt in his mind. "We'll just wait…"

-

Jyou's eyes flashed open to the sound of crying. It was the first sound that didn't come from him that he heard for a long hour. He struggled to get up; only got to his knees before getting tired. His blue hair wasn't so blue anymore; it was full of dirt, from falling, from landing. From doing everything but getting up. The sobbing noise filled his ears again.

"Who's there!" he cried out, his voice cracking from pain.

"J-Jyou-Jyou!" Sora's innocence filled the air and brought a sign of relief in his eyes.

"Where are you, Sora?" he kept his voice high, to let her hear. 

There was a moment of pause before she answered, "I… I can't feel my legs, Jyou…"

His eyes widened under the thin-framed glasses. This triggered his mind into thinking she was in grave danger and he rose to his feet, stumbling just a little to catch his balance. "Keep talking to me, Sora!" he demanded.

"Wh--what happened, Jyou?" she asked. She kept saying his name as if it brought her less pain. "Who else is with you, Jyou?"

"N-nobody," he fought to keep his balance. 

"You're a doctor, Jyou…"

"Not yet, but I will be." He took that determination into his steps.

"Then why can't I feel my legs, Jyou?" her voice faded to a pathetic whimper and Jyou finally found her. She was sprawled in front of a tree; her legs were bent by their knees. She looked as if she were asleep. But the way her body shuddered told him otherwise. Jyou knelt down beside her, taking her hand into his. Sora jerked her head to see him, her eyes filled with tears, large, and red. 

"Sora, I'm going to press down on your leg, tell me if you can feel anything, okay?" Jyou kept one hand with hers and set his other on her ankle. He gave a slight squeeze and asked if she felt it, nothing. Moving up a little farther, he asked again, still nothing. Once he reached her thigh, he asked one last time in a hopeful tone. She shook her head as a no, more tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes. 

"I'll try the other leg," he muttered, more to himself than to her. He went through the same procedure, each time asking her, each time getting an answer of no. Jyou tenderly touched her knee and she yelped in pain. Rather than holding the pain over her head, Sora began to laugh and try to sit up.

"Jyou! Does that mean it's just br-roken, Jyou?" her voice quivered with joy and pain. 

"Most likely. Do you know what happened?" 

She shook her head.

"Well, for now, I say that it's just broken… Your left more than your right of course." He gave her a smile that told her she was going to be okay and she set her head on the ground.

"Jyou," she whispered.

"Yeah?" 

"I'm scared…"

_So am I._ Jyou glanced away. "Everything will be fine." He took her other hand to warm them and tried to ignore her near-silent whimpers. They sat for a long time without saying anything, hearing utter silence. Then small specks of light began to appear in the sky. Some small and dim, others bright and large. He tilted his head to get a better look. As if Sora knew something was wrong, she tried to do the same. 

When her eyes caught the first streak of light, she looked at Jyou, "Are those what I think they are, Jyou?"

"No… not again," his eyes squinted in ache and the girl gasped. "We have to…"

Larger, faster, and brighter meteorites coming through the atmosphere and choked back his words. Sora looked up at him in confusion as he tried to lift her into his arms. And as he tried to escape them both from danger, the first meteorite struck the solid ground, probably miles away, sending them back to the ground…

-

Flames chased Yamato and Iori through the forest, trapping them when they thought they were released to freedom. No matter how much Iori cried into his shoulder, Yamato didn't slow for a second. His steps were solid; pounding wildly while one arm was kept around the little boy. He finally began to run out of breath and collapsed onto the dirty ground.

"Yamato!" the youth's voice echoed in his mind. But he couldn't take it anymore. The smoke, the running, the pain… "Yamato! You have to get up!" Iori's green gaze set on the flames; watching them grow and dance a dance of death. His hands gripped onto the other's arm, shaking it to wake him up. 

"You have to get up and find T.K.!" 

Yamato blinked his eyes open. _Takeru._ "What?"

"Get up, Yamato, get up!" Iori pulled on his shirtsleeve, his tears beginning to clean his soiled cheeks. At last, the blond pulled himself to his feet, pushing away the pain. He reached his feet and held out his arms to Iori who gladly climbed back into protection. 

His first few steps were dizzy; he stumbled because of the amount of smoke. When he got the hang of it, he began to step his way out of the smoke and away from the flames. Soon, they were back up and running their way out of the forest. But just as they began to see the end of the trees, something struck through the trees… It caused more flames, the ground around them to shake, and trees to be blown from their spots.

"Sh…" Yamato's eyes widened. He was sure Iori's did to from the way he gripped his arm. "Iori… we don't have anywhere to go…"

-

Taichi stared at the reddened sand on the beach. "Shit," he would have said another word, but his mouth couldn't function to get the "F" out. Fear formed a lump in his throat, but his courage pushed it down. Taichi stood for only a second before falling into the sand. He groaned but forced himself up again. Shaking away the pain, he slowly made his way across the sand. Every gust of wind stung his eyes, but he still took his steps strongly. When he reached the log, he finally fell to his knees, not because he was in pain, but because of what he saw. Koushiro _had_ landed with him on the beach…

"Koushi'o!" he felt tears leak from his eyes, letting the wind blow them dry. He dusted the sand off of his friend's face and body, beginning to see more blood stained sand. The tears kept coming; kept being dried by the wind. At last, Taichi lifted Koushiro's head, ever so gently. Then he heard something he never expected to hear… he looked down at his friend. His ears hadn't deceived him. He heard the boyish sobs of Koushiro and felt relieved for the first time since he fell.

"Koushiro," he managed to say his name, ignoring his own pain. He fastened his arms around the boy. Taichi was glad that he was alive, even if he was in tremendous pain. He hugged him because they were both survivors; hugged him because it brought him comfort. But most of all, Taichi hugged his friend because it meant he wasn't alone….

"Man, you scared me half to death." Taichi kept Koushiro's head up with one arm while he used the other to clear the remaining sand off the youth. His hand eventually uncovered enough sand to see that Koushiro's right arm and leg was trapped under the log. Muttering words of reassurance to the sobbing redhead, Taichi began to dig beneath his leg to let it free from weight.

"I-I'm sorry, Taichi," Koushiro murmured between gasps of air. Neither of them knew what the apology really meant. At last, his leg was out of danger, but his tears still came like a lost boy in search of his mother. When Taichi set his arm free, he struggled to sit up. Pain was smeared over his quivering face and it only increased when he looked at his arm. Blood covered every inch of his forearm and dripped of his fingertips like poison. A nasty gash stretched from his wrist to his elbow, on the tender side. Koushiro made some sort of a sound that stood for pain and buried his head in Taichi's shirt; he couldn't feel his right arm at all.

Taichi tried his best to soothe his friend; he rocked him gently like a parent would to a child and kept telling him everything was going to be okay.

"Things aren't going to be okay…" Koushiro whimpered after his tears calmed a little, "are they, Taichi?"

"No! No…." He responded, "We'll be okay. We'll find everyone and get back home. Things will be all right." Taichi glanced down at Koushiro's trembling body and held him closer, being careful of his arm. "Heh, where's Jyou when you need 'im?" _Where's Hikari… Yamato… Agumon…_

-

Hikari opened her eyes, expecting to see death in front of her. But she didn't. Her eyes stared straight up, staring into darkness. _Oh my god… It is death…_ She forced herself to sit up. There was a faint flame in the corner of her right eye; she turned to see a fire. _Okay… Maybe it's not death._

"Awake at last?"

She jumped to her feet and searched for the source of the voice. A cave… she was in a cave! Oh what luck! Her hands clenched into fists and she began to cough wildly. Two hands clamped over hers but instead of screaming, she fell back from the shock and landed against another's body. Her eyes shut weakly but she made a little sniffle and felt her knees give up on her. Still, the body behind her braced her.

"Are you okay? What hurts?"

"Takeru?" she still had her eyes shut, but the way his voice came into her mind… It was almost melodious. He laid her back down and looked down at her, his eyes full of worry. "How did I get here?" she questioned, still to dazed to open her eyes.

He set his hand on her forehead. "When we fell, I kind of found this place. But I wouldn't go in until I found you. And to sum it all up, I did." His voice was still quiet. 

"Gatomon?" 

"She's here, too."

"Patamon?" she felt his grip tense.

"I haven't found him yet."

She finally opened her eyes; afraid she might never be able to look into his after this. "Takeru…"

"Is something wrong?" his eyebrows furrowed.

Hikari's eyes filled with tears when she saw how much he was worrying. "I just don't feel good, Takeru."

"So just rest…" Takeru began to get up but Hikari reached for his hand.

"Please don't leave me, Takeru." The tears finally spilled from her eyes. He sat back down, letting her hold his hand as if it gave her hope. Honestly, it also helped him knowing that he was of importance to someone. He began to wonder what had happened to the others. _Yamato._ Maybe they were in the mountains, too. He hadn't seen anyone else when he and Hikari were falling….

Takeru shivered and looked down to speak with the girl again, but she had already drifted off to sleep. With another shiver, he laid down beside her and closed his eyes. He fell asleep still holding Hikari's hand. Neither of them were awake long enough to see the deadly meteorites fall to the earth.

-

Taichi and Koushiro were still in the sand, the brunette still holding the redhead closely. There was a long moment of silence where only the sobs were heard. Koushiro's frightened and trembling breath finally let him speak again. "I want to go home, Taichi, I just want to go home…."

Faint streaks of light started to appear in the sky. Koushiro's already wide eyes stared into the sky as he told Taichi it was a meteor shower. Only now, these _meteorites_ were falling towards the ground in tremendous speeds.

"Why?" Koushiro whispered, the tears getting heavier and thicker, the fear increasing every second. He stood with the support of Taichi but felt helpless on his right side. They began to make their way towards the ocean, but Koushiro stopped. "Not water… stay 'way," his mouth couldn't even form the words from trembling so much.

Taichi turned to look at him. "Where else are we going to go!"

The ground shook beneath their feet, signifying that meteorites already begun striking the world. Complete and utter fright was seen in Koushiro's eyes. A fireball could be seen within the pool of fear, heading towards the ocean.

The loud crash echoed inside Taichi's mind. His only instinct was to get Koushiro out of there. Rumbles of the earth beneath their feet made the redhead lose his balance. Taichi made it just in time to grab a hold of Koushiro just before the deadly waves pushed, then pulled them into the boundless ocean…

That's as much action I can do for a story. ^-^; Sorry for the slight absence of the Miyako and Mimi moments. I can't work well with Mimi. -_- Anyway… Does it still sound interesting? I'm going to branch off with the separate groups now… Who to start out with? Hey, Seth Turtle… See any self-flaming? ^-^; Mwaha! I hath improved-ith! … Riiight. Okay…. ^-^;;;

Notes for the story: _Italics_ mean the character's conscience is talking. That's right, the li'l cricket thing that you see in Pinocchio. You probably figured that, though… If not, I'm sorry. I guess that's it for now. But which duo should I branch off to first? Hum… 


	3. The Eyes of a Child

****

The Eyes of a Child

"All I want is to go home… I want to go home and see my mother and grandfather. I want to see my mother in the kitchen, fixing her wonderful food. I want to practice my lessons with Grandfather, learning helpful hints in life as well. He is so wise, so wise… What would he say in a situation like this?

He wouldn't be in a situation like this. He wouldn't be able to give me advice to a problem this immense. Immense… big… large… confusing… He wouldn't be able to help me at all--because he can't. This is my battle. This is my fight, my obstacle, my life. Now why is everything so… dark?

It wasn't so dark a moment ago. What happened? Where am I? Why is it so dark? And it's so… thick… I can't breath so easily… too thick. What's going on? Why can't I see anything! It smells so much like… like…" the dark green eyes of Iori flashed open, fear increasing as he saw nothing but black. His hands dug into the ground beneath him and his heart raced into his throat. Nothing but black. He saw nothing but black.

"H-help!" he shouted through the darkness, hoping for a ray of hope to guide him out and into safety. His breath drew in a fair amount of the thick smoke and he tried to cough it out. It burned his eyes; made his mind pulse tremendously to prevent him from thinking clearly. Fear caught him by the neck and squeezed hard. Iori felt around the ground for any clue to where he could be; only found dirt--maybe it was ashes? He rubbed his eyes and smeared the dirt or ash onto his skin.

"Anybody!" he tried again. He began to crawl blindly through the thick haze, trying to take in as little breath as needed. What had happened? _Yamato. _He remembered Yamato's voice before the deafening crash sounds. 

He managed to find a lower stretch of land and fell onto it, breathing the little fresh air he had. His eyes still burned from the smoke, but he had gotten out of its thickness. Pushing himself to move again, he began to look for another clearer area; didn't seem to find one. After a fair amount of minutes, he collapsed onto the ground, another twang of pain filled his mind. Iori then felt his mind cave into blackness. 

Ishida Yamato felt the roots of a tree underneath his fingers and his eyes blinked open. They adjusted to see the smoke above his head; the flames were nowhere in sight. The smoke itself wasn't too thick. _How in the world had this happened?_

"Damn it," he swore, half because he was in pain, half because he knew he had lost someone. _Takeru/Iori/Taichi/Takeru_. How could he have let his little brother slip into the world that never ceased to amaze oneself? He let his brother down. For all he knew, Takeru was freezing to death--or he could have already been dead. No… his brother was stranger than that. _He_ was stronger than that. 

Yamato rolled onto his side and gazed through the burnt grass. Smoke, smoke, fallen trees, the ruins of what was perfect, smoke. Staring into a world of death, he then convinced himself to get up. He convinced himself to find Takeru, to find Iori, the child who he lost under his watch. 

His mind led him through the blankets of ash. It also caused him to stop when the pain became too unbearable. Just when he was about to give up altogether, a darkened figure was displayed through the toxic mist. _Takeru…no… Iori._ A smile fleetly decorated his face as he gathered the energy to get to the fallen youth. Yamato's arms fell over Iori and pulled him close for comfort. At least he wasn't alone.

Iori's eyes flashed open again. They searched for an answer; he got Yamato. "What happened?"

"Ah, the DigiWorld is in shambles, we're all separated from each other. I can't find Gabumon, I can't find anyone…. Can't find Takeru…" Yamato rambled on for about a minute, listing all the things that he thought was happening. "People are still debating on whether a tomato is really a vegetable or a fruit. Oh yeah, and the London Bridge is falling down."

Giving him a look, Iori raised his eyebrow. Yamato chuckled and pulled Iori into a hug. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy," he remarked, the same kind of sarcasm that Yamato had. 

"Then let's…" Yamato's eyes trailed off and squinted into the smoke. He discovered the flames and sighed. "Well, let's go the other way. Maybe we can--"

A loud snap broke his words in half like a toothpick and a branch fell lifelessly beside them, a couple feet away. Fire danced on the dead branch and Yamato looked up to see that the fire had been above them all this time. He whispered into Iori's ear, "Whatever you do…" he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with smoke rather than air, "I warn you, do not look up."

Once the child nodded, Yamato rose to his feet and began to rush ahead. Iori lingered for only a brief minute. He then began to run right behind Yamato, jumping over the same branches and fallen trees, ducking around the limbs and pushing through the bushes. No matter how many times Yamato looked up, Iori never did.

Iori felt his heart pulsing within every inch of his body-- or maybe it was pain? It could have been the fear that lurked in his mind. Or the tension that cut off the feeling in his legs, causing his steps to be weak and clumsy. His feet pounded the ground in a mad fury, trying his best to keep up with Yamato. A strange feeling swept through his mind; wasn't fear, wasn't pain or confusion. It was the kind of feeling a youth would get when he was finally doing something on his own.

_Pride_.

He had been carrying himself without anyone holding his hand. At last, he was able to convince himself that he could do it on his own. All on his own. His act of pride would have continued, but the older, stronger, and more determined blond in front of him collapsed onto the solid ground. Iori halted his steps and looked down at him.

"Yamato!" he reached for his hand and tried to pull him up. The weight brought the child down instead. Yamato's face was red from heat and exhaustion. Beads of sweat drenched the teenager's face and his lips were dry, his breathing unstable and short. Iori searched for his pulse on the nook of his neck and darted his eyes around for any sign of danger.

Unfortunately, there was danger. Bright flames danced in Iori's eyes. They did a dance of fear, seemingly moving its way towards the two helpless boys. Iori's green pools faded into a dark color, widening in fear, carrying tears from pain. His hands wrapped around Yamato's face frame and he shook him gently.

"Yamato! Please get up!" Iori's voice cracked and tears slipped down his cheeks, cleaning off a trail of ash. The blond slowly blinked his eyes open, but shut them tightly as if it caused pain to see. "Come on, Yamato. You _have_ to get up!" he called to the fallen one.

Yamato recognized _something_ about that voice. _A child's voice. A plead. Takeru!_ "Takeru?" he mumbled, inhaling a gasp of polluted air.

"N-no," Iori answered, glad he could at least speak. "It's me, Iori… please get up, now…" He looked up again at the deadly fire. A hard squeeze pulled his attention back to Yamato, the blue eyes greeted his green.

"Let's go," he pushed himself off the ground, holding his head. "We have to find them." _Takeru._

Again, Yamato led the way, coughing into his hands and holding his sides/head. Iori followed his steps carefully, keeping his eyes sheltered from the smoke. Soon, they found themselves lost in a blanket of smoke on their hands and knees. Bother were exhausted from this disaster. Both were ready to go home.

Their lungs ached; yearned for fresh air. The burning in their eyes didn't help much, either. Yamato's mind was clotted with pain and confusion; an ache he never felt before. Never had he thought this would happen; never thought of being separated from his brother… _again_. It never occurred to him that this feeling was some type of _failure_. He had failed to keep Takeru safe. And now, Iori was in danger, yet he couldn't do anything to repair the mistakes. He let Iori down. He let Taichi down--and Takeru. _Everyone._

A loud crack broke Yamato's thoughts while the sight of an enflamed tree branch broke from its tree. Within a split second, the Ishida jumped towards Iori and tackled him to the ground before the flaming branch collided with the ground, just three feet away. Another branch fell behind them a ways and surrounded them in flames. Iori's eyes grew wide and his hands clamped down on Yamato's arm.

There was that dance of death again….

"Thanks, Yamato…." Iori whispered, not sure why. It could have been a … _good-bye._

Yamato shook his head, sensing the fact that he was trying to say his farewells before they were needed. "Don't start saying that--we're going to get out of this."

As much as Iori wanted to believe him, he couldn't. Not _this_ time. For minutes they tried to get out of the danger zone; led themselves to even more flames and smoke. Half of those minutes they spent on the ground, trying to keep their spirits high, trying to get a breath of fresh air, trying to survive. If they were going to get out of the mess, why haven't they gotten out already? Yamato led them into complete danger; danger wrapped around _death_. 

"Yamato," the child looked up at him, tears beginning to slip from his eyes. "I don't want to say it… But we can't get out of this one."

The blond looked down at the kid in his arms; stared right into the green eyes that were full of perturbation and youth. It reminded him so much of his little brother. _Takeru_. The day that Takeru depended on Yamato to pull him out of jeopardy was the day he realized there was always a way out of things. Back in the days where the seven Digidestined were lost in the Digital World, struggling to survive, struggling to get back home, was when Takeru needed his older brother the most. And Yamato always was there, always holding him in his arms, always telling him things were okay.

Yamato furrowed his eyebrows and felt his eyes burn with tears. Back in the Digital World… back in the situation that placed him in charge of a young life… back to the thoughts that had entrapped him in doubt. He wanted to think he was brave again, but he wasn't as brave as he thought he was… Thanks to him, he and Iori were trapped in death's grasp.

Another branch dropped down near them and Yamato tightened his grip around Iori and looked down at him again. "I… I'm sorry, Iori…"

The youth winced from hearing another branch tumble and jerked his head around to get a face full of embers. A painful cry came from Iori as he turned his head back to the other, burying his mildly burnt cheeks in the cloth of his shirt. Yamato felt the grip of his younger friend and stared hard at the fire. He clenched his eyes shut and set his chin on Iori's head.

"We shouldn't give up…" murmured Iori. Again, Yamato looked down and stared into the gentle green eyes that were destroyed by the fright. _Those eyes._ The eyes of a child had more power than a sword; more meaning than words. Branches crashed into the already fallen ones and blew cinders and sparks towards the two. Yamato winced with Iori and took him into his arms, standing up.

"No matter what you think is happening," he said to the boy, "keep your head tucked and don't look up."

Iori stared in confusion before nodding. Forcefully, Yamato cradled him to his chest and jerked his head to rid the hair in his eyes. He prepared to jump but Iori looked up and caused him to stop. 

"Don't you think your gel is flammable?" he questioned.

Yamato froze in his stance and looked down at Iori, giving him a look. "Stop trying to crack jokes in the middle of a ring of fire," he shook his head and held onto the friend tightly. He took a breath and stepped towards the flames. Within the next step, he pushed himself into a half-sprint and jumped towards the weakest part of the fire. Tucking his own head onto the youth's, they progressed through the heat, their cheeks being burnt and their clothes beginning to singe. Just as Yamato couldn't take it anymore, he started to fall towards the ground--there was no sign of the end of the pain.

They hit the ground hard, Iori above Yamato, and rolled into the flames. The blond fell on his back, unsure of how he ended up that way and felt his grip on Iori slip. Rolling to a halt out of the flames, Iori lifted his soot-smeared face to look for Yamato… only he couldn't find him at all. Flames started to spread throughout the area, provoking Iori to back up. His eyes searched for the familiar form but failed on every account.

"Yamato!" he dug his fingers into the ground and struggled to his feet. "Yamato!" He began to crawl back into the flames, but a loud thud sounded to the right of him. Jerking his head to the noise, Iori caught the glimpse of a smile on Yamato's face before he dropped to the ground. Smoke rose into the air while the two pulled each other away from the fire.

Minutes later, the edge of the forest was seen through Yamato's misty blue eyes. A smile lurked onto his face and he gazed down at Iori. Without words, he took the tired child's hand and walked towards the end, the place where death could no longer grasp them in its chilled hand. The place where they could be safe, be together, be able to find the others. They reached the last of the trees and Yamato heard the empty gasp of Iori.

Before them laid no land of green and wondrous things. There was no picnic basket, no radio, none of the other Digidestined. No smiling faces, no laughter, no food of any sort… nothing. Within their eyes, they saw destruction. The land was torn from place from the impact of the crash. Flames enriched the large crater, the smoke rising in sign of death and devastation. 

One could only wonder how much demise was spread throughout the Digital World. The cessation of sound crawled through the land, only the snapping of branches and the crackles of flames filled the minutes. To the left, the mountains remained standing; no flames had caught up to that area. _So maybe they're safe._ The right was the endless valley; a drop off that led down to the lowlands of the world, also untouched by flames, but also dark with death. In front of the two youths remained the other forest, burnt… ruined… left to die forever.

Yamato looked behind him, his cheeks smudged with soot, his eyes now shining from tears that read agony. The flames behind them still burned with great power, seemingly never-ending, taking down the trees and searing the shrubbery. His hands clamped down on Iori's shoulders as he turned to look at the destruction in front of him. A sickening jerk of pain twisted in his stomach and he lurched forward.

__

What if Takeru didn't make it? 

Iori looked up at Yamato, knowing what was running through his mind. Though he couldn't relate, he knew that it was hard of thinking the worst of a loved one. He stared at his feet, then, thinking of the others. Wondering if _somebody_ was somehow looking down at them, he turned back to Yamato. "We made it, Yamato."

The blond eyed Iori and had to crack a smile at how much the kid tried to relieve him. "Yeah… we did." There was a strong moment of silence where even the fire seemed to die away. He looked down and felt his eyes burn with worry. 

Iori winced mentally at the look of his friend and fastened his arms around him in a tight hug. He knew that no matter how hard he would try, he couldn't shake the feeling of worry off of Yamato's mind about his little brother. All he could have done was offer an act of kindness in a way of saying things will be okay. To his surprise, he felt Yamato's arms around his body as the hug was returned. He didn't say anything when he sensed tears fall onto his head; didn't say anything when he heard the older boy sob. All he did was shed a tear with him.

Utter fright was shared between the two. Neither knew where the others could be, whether they were alive, or whether they were looking for them. They just knew that somehow… they had to find the others. _Somehow_…

And with that thought in mind, Yamato pulled away from Iori and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Takeru! Taichi, Sora! Can anyone hear me!"

His echo replied faintly, drifting away just as his courage had. Iori watched him begin to stagger towards the left, apparently going to try to find Takeru. He rubbed his eyes to be brave and started to follow him, calling out for names, hoping for responses. When they didn't get anything but the wind, they tried again. Soon, they wandered towards the valley side of what used to be their picnic place. Yamato called again but was returned with nothing.

_When life refuses to deliver an intermission in destiny, _Yamato made his way through the ruined land, _clear a path for yourself._

"Yamato," Iori whispered, his voice tired and wanting a break. "It's getting dark…"

The blond turned his head towards the sky, observing the smoke, noticing the darkness. He then looked at the forests, both burning angrily in the distance. His hand released itself from a tight fist and dropped to his side. 

"First thing tomorrow, we find Takeru," he muttered and started to walk over the rubble.

Iori started to follow, but he immediately froze. "Did you feel that?" he said lowly.

"Feel wh--" Yamato's words were suddenly cut off by the rumble of the ground. Both snapped their heads up to the sky, expecting to see those fireballs all over again. Instead, the ground only shook some more.

"An earthquake?!" Yamato yelled above the noise. The ground shifted tremendously, knocking them both to the ground. The blue-eyed child tried to stand up; failed. Then tried to move; it didn't work. His eyes shot in the direction of the younger boy, seeing the fear rise all over again. _What happened to the safety?_ Sounds of cracking ground widened his eyes and his hands dug into the ground. Just as soon as the quake started… it ended… but strangely, it seemed as if it weren't over.

"Are you okay?" Yamato climbed to his feet, stepping towards Iori.

Iori looked up and didn't respond. 

"Iori?"

He shook his head, his body beginning to tremble.

"What's going on?" Yamato glared over Iori's shoulder and down at the valley. He stretched out his hand, still meters away, and took another step.

Iori shook his head again and his throat released a near silent whimper. 

"Just give me your hand…" he took another step towards the child. Both of their eyes grew large when another crack of earth filled their minds. Behind Iori, the ground that was supporting him began to fall towards the valley. Yamato lunged forward, grabbing for his hand but fell short as Iori was brought down with the burnt soil.

"Iori!" Yamato yelled, his hand still reaching down for him. The large, tear-filled green eyes screamed out 'Help!' but his voice was drowned out from fear. His hand reached out for Yamato's but as he fell down, Yamato grew distant. The green pools of the child stared in terror at the eyes of the older teenager. 

The eyes of the child sent a memory through Yamato's mind. _A plead. Takeru…_ And without thinking, he pushed himself off the broken edge of the cliff and dove through the darkness to find that child…

Eh, well… I was hoping for something more dramatic. It turned out okay I guess. I have to apologize, first off for being so short, and second for being so late. The first version I had of this was longer… but loosely written. Then the second version seemed too cheesy. I combined a few things from each rendition and add a few things and I came up with this. Short, I know, I hope it still seemed okay.

Why all the versions? …Somebody just told me that maybe I should take more time on my writing or stop writing altogether. And since I love writing, nothing can keep me away from stopping. …^-^… Yeah… that's it. So anyway… did it strike your interest? Still want to read? Think I did okay? Should I continue with these two or halt this story and jump onto the next? ^-^ Oh the possibilities.

So, from now on… I'll be taking time to make my stories better for you all to read. Mmkay? Mmkay. ^-^ Now, be a responsible reader and review like the little box thing says. 


	4. Always a Hero

Always a Hero ****

Always a Hero

A giant wave of ocean water crashed over Taichi and Koushiro's body. They were instantly swept away from each other, parting in separate ways, being forced to be alone. Koushiro frantically waved his good arm, trying to get back to the brunette. His cheeks already began to turn red from lack of oxygen. Begging himself not to gasp in a large amount of water, he began to swim upwards, trying clumsily and loosely like a child would.

Taichi hadn't given up as easily as Koushiro had. His eyes trailed the redhead even though his body was being pulled the opposite direction by the current. Struggling against it, his arms flung out in front of him, trying to push himself the other way. The power of the water stung his eyes but he ignored it, knowing that things wouldn't get any better until he had his hold on his best friend. He would never forgive himself if something else happened to him. 

Surfacing himself, Koushiro gasped for air and raised his left arm as if someone was reaching out to pull him up. It dropped back into the water as another surge catastrophically pushed him back down into the water. His clothes that were once red were now a faint brown. The water around him was red and the wounds on his body bit into his mind with pain. As he was shoved deeper into the water, his mind began to yearn for oxygen. Discomfort filled the conscious side of his mind and soon began to fold. 

Blackness surrounded his mind and Koushiro could no longer see the water, the waves; he couldn't see anything but his own darkness. Within a matter of seconds, his mind completely collapsed from the need of air, leaving the frightened child in a world of nothingness; leaving him in a world of danger.

Taichi pushed his head through the surface of water and took in a much-needed breath. His lungs burned from the torture they were being put under and his heart was racing faster than he could imagine. When he brought himself into an easy tread, he searched for the redhead… He panted heavily, twisting and turning in the water in search of him, needing to see any sign to save him. 

In the distance, little fireballs streaked against the dark sky. Taichi wondered if they would all land in the ocean. Sometimes he would hear a loud crash signifying one had crashed into the mountains or any other piece of solid ground. Other times he could actually see one of those deadly things fly into the water. When this happened, he jerked his head to look for Koushiro again, knowing that he _had_ to find him. 

Taichi inhaled a large amount of air and dove into the chilly waters. His eyes probed each movement in the ocean, waiting for Koushiro, wishing for Koushiro. The dark, shaded areas of the undersea maze didn't help him with his search. He swam swiftly, keeping his eyes open for that familiar little redhead that seemed to disappear so often. His mind began to tell him that he needed air--but he couldn't give up just yet! Those _things_ were causing the waves. If he took too much time… Koushiro could be swept further away and…

__

Stop it Taichi, he demanded to himself. _Those thoughts are useless in the real world! You either think positive or you don't think at all. Friendship can't last with this kind of attitude…_

The brunette pushed himself under the water, feeling faint waves that had crashed on the surface. He pushed himself down further, hoping that his doubts wouldn't get the best of him. Exhaling just a small amount of air, he felt his lungs ease for only a moment. He was fighting with himself mentally, telling him that he didn't need air, that he could go just a little farther, that he had to find Koushiro before it was too late.

It reached the point to when Taichi began to feel pain in his stomach and his head. His eyes were straining to get a hold of anything but spots. He once heard that it could be easier to convince yourself if you had a strong motive. The thought of Hikari was set in his mind. If he didn't make it out of this, Hikari would be alone. She wouldn't know what to do; wouldn't know how to wake up in the morning without a brother. And on the flip side, he wouldn't know what to do if he ever lost his baby sister.

Koushiro settled down on one side of his mind, too. This brainy little computer whiz had been his best friend for a long time. If he didn't know any better, he could call Koushiro his brother. He would be letting him down if he hadn't pushed on... It would be as if _he_ actually _killed_ Koushiro... just because he couldn't make it on time.

Sora and Mimi were two of his good friends, too. Especially Sora… He wished that he knew what kind of state they were in. Daisuke, though following in his footsteps, was a whole different youth than he was. Taichi just knew that Daisuke wouldn't see him as the great role-model soccer player if he let someone he cared for slip out of his reach.

Yamato's pale face, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes came across his mind. Taichi clenched his hands into fists when he remembered how he and Yamato used to argue over things. He had taken the friendship for granted… If he knew that this would have happened, he wouldn't have been so cruel to one of his best friends. What would Yamato say if he saw him now? _Your hair's too big… it's absorbing all the water, you idiot. You'll sink to the bottom of the ocean. …But don't give up._

Ah… Takeru… the boy who stole his sister's heart in a flash… The kid who will probably someday end up taking Hikari out to a dinner and a movie. And then away from her home… away from her family. The kid he wanted to pulverize. That was Takeru… But despite how many times he could threaten and frighten the poor youth, he knew that no matter what, this kid loved his sister--even if he couldn't admit it. After all, he had blushed over the fact of Hikari's pink angel rabbit pajamas and the cream-colored towel.

Taichi squeezed his last ounce of energy to reach out for something he thought was Koushiro. His fingers entwined in a type of cloth and he immediately lunged forward to get a better hold. It was Koushiro, all right. The redhead's eyes were closed and his facial expression was in pain. Burning lungs and all, Taichi took the friend into his arms and propelled himself towards the surface. 

Just as his brown head broke out from the water, a floating log was seen nearby. It had a piece of Koushiro's shirt material trapped within its bark. He found the irony easily. Something that had caused great pain to his friend was going to become his savior. Taichi paddled his way through the rough waters, trying his best to keep both his and Koushiro's head above water. Never once did his hand leave the grip of his. 

Once he reached the log, he began to push Koushiro onto it. It was rather hard when one half of the job was lying limp with jagged breathing patterns. But at least he had started to breathe again. Taichi threw his arms over the side of the dead tree and took a couple breaths of air to ease the pain in his lungs. There weren't any major waves for a long while. Taichi wondered if it was ready to consider it safe.

On a couple swells of water, the log kind of tipped to the side, causing the unconscious Koushiro begin to slide. Taichi, already a little jumpy from the water, struggled to keep him on without pulling him off and without releasing his own grip from it. Moments passed where it was just dead silence. Taichi was too exhausted to move, to think, to do anything but breath. Even keeping Koushiro on the log was a difficult task. 

And then without notice… he started to cry.

The older of the two set his forehead against Koushiro's body and sobbed. He cried for many reasons; he cried because he was scared and wanted to go home and he cried because he was glad that Koushiro was still alive---that he hadn't failed him--which he had lived through a traumatizing moment in his life. His eyes released the warm tears because he was worried for the friends that he couldn't touch right now; the friends that he couldn't imagine what they were going through. Broken sobs of confusion were thrown into the silence because he was in pain and his mind just couldn't take any more of it. But most of all, he cried because he thought the worst of life had passed.

"Koushiro," Taichi laced his left hand with the other's, his right arm wrapped around his body to keep him secure. "Promise me," he said between quivering sniffles, "promise me that you won't do this to me again." He tried to laugh, but he couldn't, he just buried his face in the youth's arm. "I don't want to see you all silent and motionless and… and I don't want to see you away from your laptop."

He forced another choked laugh. "I thought you'd go insane without it by now. But I guess we're all kind of going insane from this." He rubbed his eyes against the wet cloth of Koushiro's sleeve and set his forehead on his shoulder. "Promise me that if we get home--" He caught his words and quickly changed them, "When we get home, everything will be back to normal. Right? You'll be surfing on your laptop--not a log. And me… well… I'm just--"

"Always a hero."

Taichi raised his head up thinking his exhausted mind was playing games on him. His eyes locked on Koushiro's closed eyelids. A kind of sorrowful pain lurched within his stomach, making him feel sick. There was a moment of silence where Taichi just stared at Koushiro, wishing/hoping/pleading. He couldn't tell whether Koushiro really did say those words or if he had been under water too long. The ripples in the water kept them moving up and down; he didn't know if Koushiro was still breathing--still living. He didn't want to find out if he wasn't. When his final ray of hope faded within the debris in the sky, Taichi lowered his head in defeat/pain.

"Did you hear me?" Koushiro's voice drifted again. It sounded angelic, innocent, gentle, and far away. Taichi swore to himself that he was imagining it all and kept his head down. 

"I said you're always a hero." The voice seemed girlish in a way--but only because it was quivering and cracking whenever possible. Taichi clenched his eyes shut and wished the voice would just leave him alone. It was haunting.

"I promise, Taichi."

The brunette sniffed roughly and lifted his head again. Instead of seeing closed eyes, he stared into the dark pools of Koushiro. At first, he didn't know what to do; didn't know whether to be overwhelmed with joy or relief. Or what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to laugh or embrace the friend? Cry again or just remain silent? 

Well, Taichi did everything.

He flung his arms around the youth; their hands locked together like a handshake. Tears slipped from the corners of the boys' eyes while Taichi began to laugh hysterically, telling Koushiro that he thought he was hearing things in his own mind. For minutes, they talked about the fear of water that they were developing. Koushiro claimed to never set foot in anything deeper than two feet. Taichi said that he'd only touch water if it were in a shower. They laughed at each other when they told their doubts. 

The redheaded child remained on the log; the right side of his body was numb from earlier, and now it was against damp clothing, stinging it whenever a slight breeze swept across. He trembled every so often as if someone had dumped a cold bucket of water over him. Taichi understood how cold he was; he too was freezing in the water.

He was treading the water, hanging onto the log with his arms and setting his chin on the bark. Though he was cold, he was content. His eyes study the facial expressions that Koushiro made as they talked. The youth would scrunch his nose when he was describing something that freaked him out--but didn't want it to seem like he was scared. When he was joking, his smile slanted up a little more on one side. His eyes shifted hastily whenever he mentioned how scared he was.

Taichi watched how he used his hands to describe things. Well, he used his left hand, his right was holding onto the brunette's like he was going to suddenly sink or something. Koushiro would silence himself every so often to bite on his bottom lip. Finally, he turned to look down at Taichi and said, "Are you okay?" 

"Sure I am," Taichi said, his purple lips telling the other a different story. 

"Why haven't we tried to go back yet?"

"I'm just… tired," Taichi craned his neck to look behind them. The sight of the land looked far away. Neither of them knew that they had been just bobbing up and down in the water for a long while. Everything had been strangely calm. There weren't any flaming fireballs pelting the ground; wasn't any waves pushing or pulling… It was calm.

"Taichi," Koushiro whispered, looking away childishly. "Why does this silence make me so uncomfortable?"

The Yagami bit his lip to keep it from quivering. "I don't know." But he did know… It was quiet when they were resting underneath the trees. It was quiet when they were sitting in the sand. And now it was quiet again…

"Taichi," the redhead whispered, his weak hand gripping as hard as it could to Taichi's.

"Huh?" he asked turning his attention back on the boy.

Koushiro's eyes were staring at the ruined sky; the sky that was once a vivid blue, now a darkening gray. "Please don't let go."

The words echoed in his mind… like they were a cue for someone, or something. And surprisingly, something _did_ happen. 

A pulse of waves moved underneath them, causing the log that Koushiro was holding onto to bob up and down. Koushiro sat up and looked around themselves. The water looked serene again. That was before they saw a wave of no more than three feet in the distance. As it neared, it began to grow, larger and larger, as did the two boys' eyes.

The wave surged across the used-to-be calm waters, pulling the log away. Koushiro fell off of it before the wave hit its prey. Breaking from the pressure, the log was engulfed by the waves, taken into the tremendous power of the tsunami. Both Taichi and Koushiro were dragged into the power, but no matter what happened, Taichi never let go of his friend--not like he had before. This time he was going to be a _true_ hero. He was going protect Koushiro instead of waiting until he was in danger.

But how could he do such a task when he was trying to save himself, too?

Taichi held the other close as the wave pushed them as if they were a log. He clenched his eyes shut; the water was painful, it was pushing against him in so many different ways, it was hard to even think of it. Despite his effort of trying to keep his head above water, he failed. Just as he had before, he was sucked into a world of water, pressure, and fear. 

He felt Koushiro frantically holding onto his arm, gripping it tightly with both hands. The redhead was scared for his life--like Taichi--but didn't know how to show it without looking like he was having a seizure. Koushiro scanned the fast-pasted wave with wide-eyes. His right hand, the weaker of the two, lost grip of Taichi's arm and was jerked away from it from the flow of the water. 

Taichi felt this turned his head as fast as he could. But everything began to slow down immensely. His brown eyes studied the movements and grew wide with fear and disbelief. Koushiro's left hand was beginning to easily lose its grip and the boy himself looked like he was about to give up. And he did. The redhead suddenly jerked within the water like something hit his back and his grip automatically released.

This happened in slow motion; Taichi turning his head and watching his friend get hit by the log, then lose his grip completely. Then he had to watch his friend drift away because he couldn't help. He had to watch his friend be pulled away… and he couldn't do anything about it--for he was going the opposite way Koushiro was. 

__

Some hero I turned out to be… Taichi clenched his hand shut; feeling falsely titled when Koushiro called him a hero. Just as he was pulled to the surface of the water, he saw Koushiro; behind him, caught on the jagged edges of the log. Taichi called out his name and reached out to him, but everything was drowned out by the crashed of water, the sound of colliding rocks with solids; and the sound that hit Taichi made when he himself crashed into the rocks.

__

Please don't let go… Always a hero… I promise, Taichi… PLEASE DON'T LET GO…

Eh, another chapter that I was hoping to be better. Ah… but what about poor little Iori and Yamato? Well guess what--you have to wait. ^-^ I'm going one step up at a time… no one's going to finish before all the others. In other words, yup, you do have to wait. ^-^

Also, somebody asked me if the way I separated the groups into pairs meant they were couples. Nope. The only couple I'm going to have is Takari. But it'll be so friendship-ish that you wouldn't even realize it. Aside from the little pink pajamas. Mmkay. 

So, with that settles and said… you can go review about this semi-pathetic chapter. Now I need to know who to do next… Ken and Daisuke, Sora and Jyou, Mimi and Miyako, or Takeru and Hikari… Humm… Thanks for reading and all that jazz.


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